Newborn Wings
by Spirited Heart
Summary: When Max dies in childbirth, she leaves Fang to care for the infant daughter. Will he be able to handle the task in front of him? Or will the loneness without Max in his life overcome the love for his daughter?
1. End and Begining of a Life

**A/N: okay guys...this is a new kind of fanfic. Please R&R and tell me if you liked it! :D**

**Title: Newborn Wings**

**Description: **"And I could feel my baby's heart fluttering like a newborn bird's wings…taking off and flying for the very first time. That was the very last thing I saw: her eyes, Fang's eyes, gazing back at me. Then everything faded into darkness." Fax, character death, rated T

**Max's POV **

The pain was unbearable. _Please,_ I kept thought to myself, _let me die….nothing can be worth this pain…please, just let me die…_Every push I forced myself to give sent waves of throbbing pain through my already weak body. I had been in labor for ten hours already; when would it end?

The only things I was aware of was Fang, grasping my hand firmly and murmuring words of praise and encouragement, and the occasional "I love you", in to my ear.

"You can do this Max, you're doing great…keep pushing Max..." he whispered over and over again. I screamed and pushed as hard as I could, feeling the hot drips of sweat cascading down my forehead and into my open mouth: their salty taste almost comforting.

At long last, I heard a baby's feeble cry. And I gasped, because it was all over.

Dr. Martinez, Mom, wrapped the new-born in a warm blanket that she had next to me and looked at Fang and I with tired but happy eyes.

"Congratulations. You two are the parents of a brand new baby girl." She smiled, "you guys are making me a grandma early, y'know…" I gave out a weak laugh. Fang looked at me with concern.

"Are you alright?" he asked, searching my face.

"Yes, I'm fine…just a little tired, that's all…" but I knew that something wasn't right. I didn't want to worry him though. This was one of the happiest days of our lives.

"May I see my baby?" I asked my mom. She smiled and handed the child snuggled in her arms.

The second I laid eyes of my brand new baby, all the pain was worth it: Completely and totally worth it.

And as I looked into my daughter's confused face, I could tell that she had gotten her Fathers's eyes: dark, brilliant, wondering and curious, warm, trusting… They were perhaps even more brilliant than her fathers. Hers contrasted against her beautiful, pale skin. I reached out to gently stroke her little arm, and she reached up to touch my cheek. Her touch was warm and soft, and my big hand cupped her little one.

"Hello there, little stranger." I smiled. It felt like my heart would burst with all the feelings at this moment…_happiness, warmth_, and an almost overwhelming feeling of love for the wonder in my arms and the man by my side. It was almost like my life hadn't been complete until I held that baby in my arms. I glanced up at my Fang. His cheeks looked moist, and his eyes were suspiciously shiny. We were a family now.

As my Mom took my baby out of my arms and handed it to a delighted Fang, I felt tired. Too tired. The temptation to close my eyes and take a long, long nap was getting harder and harder to resist. Something was wrong…..

**Fang POV**

Dr. Martinez put the baby into my shaking arms.

"Be careful, and watch her head." She said warmly before ushering back to Max.

I looked down to the small fragment of life in my arms, and found myself looking at a mirror image of me. I realized with amazement and joy that my daughter's eyes were my own: dark and mysterious. But the emanating light shining within them was all Max. I smiled, knowing that our baby would have just as much spunk as its mother. Little tufts of Max's famous light-colored hair were matted against the baby's small head and were already starting to dry. The baby, strangely enough, did not cry. She kept staring at me with an almost unearthly curiosity. I couldn't help but stare back. It was hard grasping the concept that I was a father now.

"It's me, your daddy," I whispered to my daughter, "Welcome to the world, little one." Dr. Martinez's worried tap on my shoulder brought me out of my thoughts.

"Fang…" she said, "something's wrong. It's Max. Well, she's lost a lot of blood…I…I don't think she's going to make it. I'm sorry…there's just…nothing I can do." Her chocolate eyes brimmed with unshed tears.

I didn't say anything.

Sensing my impending denial, Nudge spoke up from behind me. "I'll take the baby…" not looking at her, I handed to my sister the newest member of our flock.

In the other room, Max lay, exhausted, on the large bed: her light locks of hair dampened and matted against her pale face. She looked deathly in the soft glow of the bedside table. Seeing her like this, I knew Dr. Martinez was right. I knew it was only a matter of time.

_You will not cry…you will not cry…_I chanted to myself as I walked over to Max. She reached out her frail hand and I took it in my own and kneeled by her side.

"How are you feeling?" I asked restlessly. She thought for a moment.

"Tired."

"I thought so…" I continued my struggle for holding back the tears that were fighting to escape my eyes. I wanted to throw myself at her, I wanted to yell and kick and scream _"don't leave me alone, Max! Don't leave me alone!"_ I wanted to punch the wall and curse God for taking her so soon. It wasn't even fair. Did Max even know she was dying?

"I know I'm dying, Fang."

I guess for the first time in my life my expression was readable. She continued to talk.

"but I'm not suffering Fang…I got to hold my daughter, I got to look her in my eyes and tell her that I loved her. When I'm gone, tell her that I loved her very, very much." I whimpered.

"No…don't talk like that. maybe you'll live. Miracles can happen, right? You've got to hold on, Max…for me, for the baby…"

"I can feel me getting more and more tired. We can't do anything."

"But I love you!" I practically yelled, my anger at the world showing. She smiled.

"And I love you, more than anything, Fang." We were quiet for a moment, silently looking at each other and knowing that this was probably the last conversation we'd ever have.

Max reached up at stroked my cheek.

"She has your eyes…" she said. I stroked her hand lightly, adoringly, and leaned into her touch.

Everything in my body was screaming.

_Don't leave me! I love you too much!_

But I felt her hand slip from my cheek, and her eyelids flickered and a smile started to form on her face. My Max, my beautiful, kind, sweet, protective, loving Max then closed her eyes and never opened them again.

I let the tears flow.


	2. Funeral

**A/N: here's chapter 2 :D**

It seemed that everything I happened to see looked grey.

Grey, and blurry.

Maybe that was because I was trying to hold back tears, but so far it wasn't really working.

The minister droned on and on, talking in a bored tone like he had somewhere to go after the funeral that was much more exciting than this. His dull eyes were glazed over: reading the words he had read hundreds of times before at the funerals of other people.

But none of them were like Max.

* * *

"_Hey you." Max smiled at me from our bed._

"_Hey yourself." I smirked, standing several feet away removing my shirt. _

_I knew she was ogling me, so I played it up a bit: removing it slowly, tantalizingly. _

_She couldn't take it. _

"_Come over here." She patted the bed beside her._

_I was quick to comply. As I sat down, the bed creaked and Max scooted closer. She sighed._

"_Wow." _

"_Wow what?" I asked._

"_Wow, as in we're married. I mean, I knew it was going to happen sooner or later but y'know…it's different."_

"_Regretting it, are we?" I said playfully. She laughed._

"_Of course not!" Max tackled me. We wrestled jokingly for a while, laughing the whole time, until we finally ended up with her lying on top of me. We stayed in that position for a few minutes and just looked at each other. _

_We knew we were both thinking the same thing. _

"_Are you sure…?" I asked._

"_Yes." She said firmly, and then crashed her lips to mine._

* * *

I sighed.

That was one of the happiest nights of my life.

Angel's soft sob brought me out of my flashback. Her usually cheerful eyes were filled with tears, and slowly, one by one, they fell onto her black blouse. Iggy pulled her into an embrace and I heard him murmuring over and over again _"its okay, everything's going to be alright…we're going to be okay…Don't cry, Angel, don't cry…"_

Wish I had someone to hold me like that…

"…that we finally rest Maximum Ride, loving wife, mother, and sister, to continue on into heaven to be by God's (1) side for the rest of eternity, and that we may hope that her friends and family will one day join her and live in bliss for as long as the world shall exist. Amen." Finished the minister.

"Amen." Everyone said.

I watched men put the casket in the ground. I just about died.

And then it finally hit me that I would never be able to see her face again. We would never talk together, never laugh together, never fly together, and never kiss again. That's why I had refused an open casket ceremony. If I had to see Max like that; cold, dead, silent, still…I don't know what I would have done.

* * *

"_Fang, I have something to tell you." Max was standing there in front of me, glowing and sparkling as only Max can. _

_I think for a second, wondering what it is that she needs to tell me and what could possibly make her so happy…_

_She placed her hand on her stomach._

_Oh. _

_OH!_

_I ran up to her, pretty sure that her glowing was contagious. _

"_Are you…are you positive?" I said in disbelief. She smiled and happy tears ran down her face. _

"_Yes. I took a test and it came out positive. Fang, we're going to be parents! We're going to raise a family!" I wound my lean arms around her and brought her close._

"_Together."_

* * *

"Fang…?" Nudge questioned gently. "Are you alright?" I realized than I had been crying.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah I'm fine." My voice cracked. Damn.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to hold you daughter…" I nodded and she placed my baby in my arms.

And then I was looking at Max again.

"Hey there, girl," I whispered to her, "you're mommy's gone, so we'll have to take care each other, okay?" I was quiet for a moment.

* * *

_I looked up from my magazine to see what Max was doing._

_She was sitting on the windowsill of our bedroom window, looking outside with eyes full of wonder and her hand absentmindedly rubbing her growing stomach. _

_I looked at her, puzzled. _

"_What are you thinking about?" I asked her out of curiosity. _

"_I was just thinking about the birds." She turned and smiled at me. Her eyes sparkled with mischief and I could see the small forming of a smirk on her face. "I'm glad I didn't have to lay an egg." _

_I chuckled good-humouredly. _

"_What do you think we should name the baby?" she asked me. I hadn't given the topic much thought. I wasn't really good with names. _

"_I'm not sure. I was going to leave that up to you." Max nodded and looked back out the window, and then down at her belly again; stroking it softly with love._

"_I was thinking of Robin. It's always been one of my favorites and it does work..."_

"_Robin? That's a nice name."_

"_You think so?" _

"_Yeah, as long as I don't have to feed it worms or something."_

_Max threw a pillow at my head._

_I didn't get back to my magazine for a while._

* * *

I looked back at the wondering child in my arms.

"Don't worry, Robin," I whispered, tears falling again, "I will always take care of you."

She reached up and touched my damp cheek, as if to wipe the tears away.

I remembered something that Max had said to me the night she died.

* * *

**_You will not cry…you will not cry…_**_I chanted to myself as I walked over to Max. She reached out her frail hand and I took it in my own and kneeled by her side._

"_How are you feeling?" I asked restlessly. She thought for a moment._

"_Tired."_

"_I thought so…" I continued my struggle for holding back the tears that were fighting to escape my eyes. I wanted to throw myself at her, I wanted to yell and kick and scream "don't leave me alone, Max! Don't leave me alone!" I wanted to punch the wall and curse God for taking her so soon. It wasn't even fair. Did Max even know she was dying?_

"_I know I'm dying, Fang."_

_I guess that for the first time in my life my expression was readable. She continued to talk._

"_but I'm not suffering Fang…I got to hold my daughter, I got to look her in my eyes and tell her that I loved her. When I'm gone, tell her that I loved her very, very much." I whimpered._

"_No…don't talk like that. maybe you'll live. Miracles can happen, right? You've got to hold on, Max…for me, for the baby…" _

"_I can feel me getting more and more tired. We can't do anything."_

"_But I love you!" I practically yelled, my anger at the world showing. She smiled. _

"_And I love you, more than anything, Fang." We were quiet for a moment, silently looking at each other and knowing that this was probably the last conversation we'd ever have._

_Max reached up at stroked my cheek._

* * *

"You're mother loved you very much." I said to Robin. She cooed in response. I smiled sadly. "She was one of a kind…you remind me so much of her."

I wondered if the wrong parent had died. Mothers raise daughters. Fathers are supposed to financially support the family. Mothers are the nurturers; it was always that way in the books and movies that I had seen and read. Now, I knew that it wasn't going to be that way. Max was gone and I was going to raise our daughter.

And I was determined to do a damn good job of it, too.


End file.
